Noise after removing air dam

I've got this noise on my SR5 after removing the air dam as well.

Does anyone know what the hole size is? I'd rather go to Lowes and pick up cheaper hole plugs

 

Wow, absolutely amazing work by everyone in this thread.

I had to put the dam back on temporarily because my ears were hurting but now my eyes are hurting.

With the Fourth of July sale going on at autoparts.toyota.com I can get eight of those plugs (90950-A1021) for $20. That's still absurdly expensive but much easier to swallow than $50.

If you want to order the plugs (today is the last day of the sale but it seems like they have a sale every holiday) keep in mind that to see the actual price you have to add them to your cart and then view your cart. Otherwise the website displays the "regular" price, which for me was ~$3 each.

 

Interestingly I exchanged messages with a gentleman on a different forum yesterday about the plugs. He has a SR5 and was about to purchase the plugs when he realized they were already installed on his. He was going to buy them ahead of removing the air dam. So I wonder if that explains why certain folks report the noise and some say they don't have it. Were the plugs supposed to be there and some trucks got missed???

 

I confirmed that my Sport does not have the plugs, and I do have The Howl.

Ordered some plugs this morning so we'll see. Thanks Toyota for saving two cents on the assembly of my $50,000 truck.

 

From my previous post on page 3. After reading through many posts on this topic on multiple forums, I believe plugs are meant to be installed and some trucks are being missed.

Excellent detective work @Jakedawgy. Mine was one of the ones that did not whistle after removing the Air Dam, but I purchased some plugs anyway as a fairly inexpensive howl deterrent.

Update: After buying the plugs assuming they were not on my Sport model, got underneath and lo and behold, already had them installed, so assume that is why I never suffered from the howl/whistle after removing my air dam. This does indeed seem to explain why some Sport owners have the issue while others do not. Mine was manufactured in the Guanajuato factory.

 

you are 100% correct. I had posted earlier in the thread that I did not have the howl on my Sport, however, I must have missed the pictures posted earlier. Just went outside and lo and behold mine came installed with them in these places which now makes sense that I wouldn’t have the howl:

 

The plot thickens... Pisses me off I paid $60 CAD for plugs that perhaps "should" have been installed in the first place! I'm already imagining the battle with my dealership.

So at least now we know that those of us who have the howl are not crazy! I wondered how those who said they did not have the howl could miss that as it's a really loud annoying howl you could hear over the stereo, A/C on full and cooling seats on full as well! Turns out they have the plugs already installed! Now how do we convince Toyota to reimburse those of us who bought these plugs?

 

So, is this something one can bug the dealer about......missing plugs? I'm missing a plastic piece above the driver door, on the roof that covers the roof rack mount. Dealer says he will mail it to me.

 

I'm not sure if these plugs are parts that were supposed to be on all the trucks or not... I'm not sure if there is a way to find that out. Although the spoiler prevented air from flowing through the arm and causing the noise, I wonder why some Sport and SR5 trim have the plugs and some don't. Quite unfair that some owners have to fork over cash to get parts that may not have been installed in error.

 

lol, right? Y’all had me wondering if I needed hearing aids. I was like I know I’m getting older, but 36 shouldn’t have hearing problems! When I was testing I was really trying to listen. I’m glad we figured it out though. Sorry you guys had to pay out of pocket. Surely the dealer will reimburse you with proof of receipt. I’m sure they won’t, but who knows.

 

Just checked my VIN and mine came from the same factory. Is this a Quality Control (QC) issue then? Stuff like this drives me nuts.

 

I went under my truck today and saw that I do not have the hole plugs. I measured the holes at 0.75 inches so I am going to go to lowes later today and buy some plugs which are $0.89 each. Hopefully that works and I will report back

 

I have the howl, no plugs, and just ordered them from the dealership -- don't judge, I work there, so I won't be paying retail for them. I should have them tomorrow. I hope that fixes it!

 

I went to Lowes today and bought these: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-2-Pack-0-75-in-Black-Plastic-Hole-Plug/3109075

It fixed the problem (YAY!!) but they are too loose in the holes for my liking. I could easily pull them out with my fingers. But they didn't fall out on a drive on the highway.
So I am just going to get the Toyota ones for a better fit and stomach the $25 for plastic plugs...at least they are on sale right now.

 

Plugs installed. No more howl/whistle!

I love this forum!!!

 

Which plugs did you use, dealers or Lowes?

 

Dealer's -- I work at a dealership, so I get them for not much above cost.

As I was driving into work today -- I was thinking, this is basically what the whistle sounds like:

 

I was going buy plugs before I removed the air dam. I just went out side to check, before I buy, and my SR5 has the plugs already.

 

What! I was under the assumption that no SR5 would have the plugs. This is even weirder now.

I guess there will never be a way to get this fixed by Toyota since this is the results of us removing the air dam?

 

How hard is it to push plastic plugs in? (Probably much easier than removing the damn dam.)